Fix You
by KillerMay
Summary: Lights will guide you home... —Sasuke, Sakura.


fix you.

.

.

He came back in chains.

There were guards on either side of them and slightly behind them, Naruto and Sakura walked. Kakashi followed behind them, casually reading as if nothing of any significance was happening.

It was strange slightly. Sasuke didn't look that bad—sure, he had a few cuts and bruises and dried blood coming from his lip, but those were rather typical injuries for any fight. He also wasn't putting up any kind of fight with the guards or _anything_. He was blankly staring ahead, eyes void of all emotion.

Naruto—_Naruto_ was the one who was injured. He could stand thanks to Sakura's medical ninjutsu but he still had to lean on her for support. His arm was hanging limply by his side, unable to move. He had dried blood starting from his nose and going to his chin, there were various burn marks on his body.

Everyone wanted to know: what happened?

There was no doubt Sasuke was strong but Naruto was most likely stronger. Everyone in the village had _seen_ his improvement. They saw how he controlled the ninetails. He changed the entire face of the war.

He was strong enough to beat Sasuke, mangekyou or not. So why hadn't he?

They never found out the answer; Team 7 had it's fair share of secrets—the battle that took place away from the eyes of the crowd would be one of them.

.

Surprisingly (as it was quite evident that Tsunade showed no form of sympathy or compassion for "that Uchiha boy"), he was only put on probation.

It was quite strict, however.

He was to be escorted _everywhere_ by a jounin or special jounin. There would be a jounin stationed outside of his apartment 24/7 and two or three jounin stationed outside of the apartment building.

Most of the people chosen for the job had complained to an almost ridiculous extent about how much they _didn't_ want to baby-sit a seventeen year old _traitor_. Once they actually started the job though (as Tsunade had really given them no choice), they found it to be one of the easiest missions they ever had.

Sasuke did not ever leave his apartment.

Eventually, it became less of a job to ensure the safety of citizens and more of a job to make sure the Uchiha was still alive at the end of the week.

.

For the first two nights, Sasuke didn't sleep.

He didn't do _anything_. The apartment was exactly how he'd left it all those years ago, though he assumed someone had come in and cleaned as he didn't remember it being so clean when he left and it certainly wouldn't be after four years.

He didn't think much of it though as he sat on the couch he had bought when he was nine, already living on his own.

He sat there for the longest time doing nothing.

He didn't _want_ to do anything, especially not think. He would much rather do _anything_ else.

At some point, he did try to crawl into bed and shut his eyes but his bed was cold and the apartment was so _clean_ and _perfect_ and _fake_ that he found himself missing the comfort of the home he once had.

And that was what drove him, what pushed him over the edge _so many times_ before and he was so, so _tired_.

On his third night back in Konoha, he eventually shuts his eyes and dreams of high-pitched screams, muttered curses, and the sounds of a sword cutting through the bodies of everyone he ever cared about and who cared about him.

On the fourth night, he throws water in his face whenever he starts to feel tired because he's seen the same scene so many times (and it has never felt real) and he's not sure how many more he can take before he breaks one final time.

.

At some point, Sakura comes to visit him.

Kakashi is the one guarding the door, ready to escort Sasuke if he feels the need to go somewhere, so he lets her right in. Sasuke glances up at her from his spot at the kitchen table (the couch was getting too comfortable and it made him want to sleep) and says nothing.

"Hi," she says quietly, taking a seat across from him at the table. She glanced around the small apartment, realizing she had never actually been here. The kitchen, living room, and bedroom were all in the _same_ room. There were only two doors—the one that led outside and the one that led to the bathroom. There was also a balcony that you could get to by a sliding screen door. From what she could see, it was a rather nice view of the village.

He says nothing in reply to her greeting and doesn't even make a movement to show her that he heard what she said.

He just stared down at the table and waited for her to continue.

"Um, Sasuke-san," she began. His eyebrow arched a bit—were they _that_ unfamiliar with each other now? "I was wondering if you'd want to go get some ramen with me and Naruto?"

He grunted in reply and even though they were on such unfamiliar terms now, she still understood what he meant. She had always understood what he meant.

She gave him a small smile and said, "Thanks, I'll come by and get you tomorrow. Since I'm a jounin—" _When had that happened_? "—we won't have to have someone weird like Kakashi-sensei following us around."

When he didn't reply, she lightly touched his hand. He flinched but didn't do anything to make her stop touching him. "Everything's going to go back to normal, Sasuke-kun." She gave him a large smile that reached her eyes—the same one she always gave him when he was twelve. It was that knowledge of something familiar that he _needed_ if he hoped to make it past week one in Konoha. "I promise."

.

**notes**— I was going to make this longer, but then when I tried to add to it, it just didn't seem to work out quite right. Review please. (:


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